30 Hudson Yards vs Grant Thornton Tower

Comparing the 30 Hudson Yards and the Grant Thornton Tower is compelling because they were both designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, yet they stand in different cities (New York, NY and Chicago, IL), and were completed over two decades apart.

What this will allow us to see, is how the same firm's approach adapted to different places in different periods of time.

The 30 Hudson Yards is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 1296ft (395m) with 73 floors above ground, while the Grant Thornton Tower reaches 755ft (230m) with 50 floors above ground.

Of course, each project may have faced different briefs or regulatory constraints, which we don't really know about and could also explain the outcome.

The 30 Hudson Yards was designed in the Contemporary style, while the Grant Thornton Tower reflects the principles of Postmodernism.

The Grant Thornton Tower represents a late expression of the Postmodernism, a style already in decline in 1992 when it was completed. By contrast, the 30 Hudson Yards followed the then mainstream Contemporary, embodying the dominant architectural direction of its time.

With 27 years between them, the comparison also reflects how quickly architectural priorities can shift from one dominant language to another.

Both the 30 Hudson Yards and the Grant Thornton Tower were designed to serve as commercial towers, and that has remained their main use since their completion, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

The two towers rely on different structural systems, reflecting distinct engineering strategies.

The 30 Hudson Yards uses a Trussed Frame structural system, which uses diagonal bracing in addition to beams and columns for stability, while the Grant Thornton Tower uses a Frame system, that relies on a regular grid of columns and beams to sustain its weight.

Yet, when it comes to their facade, they both employed the same solution, a Curtain Wall facade.

A curtain wall is a non-load-bearing facade hung from the structural frame. It is anchored to floor slabs and transfers only its own weight and wind loads, allowing for sleek, glassy exteriors.